Article
Seven businesses, one lesson
Shampoo. Wine. Drawings. Scale models. A school and office supplies store. A restaurant and a peña in my own home. A lending business. A piñata supplies store. Vysa Trading LLC. Seven businesses — and I'm sure I'm forgetting one.
For years I thought each one was a separate attempt, almost disconnected from the last. Now, looking back, I see they all share the same root.
What changed
The product changed. The market changed. The scale changed — from selling shampoo door to door to coordinating inventory for three online platforms. The country changed: from Peru to Canada. Even what I understood by "success" changed: at first it was simply making it to the end of the month; later it was building something that would last.
What never changed
What never changed was the habit of starting over. Each of those seven businesses was born after the previous one stopped being enough — or, in the hardest case, after losing almost everything. There was never a "final" business. There was, one after another, the same decision: keep going.
The wealth that truly matters doesn't stay in a bank account — it stays in your head, and nobody can take that from you.
The lesson that holds everything else up
If you ask me which skill served me in all seven businesses, it isn't negotiating, accounting or marketing — although all seven required those. It's the willingness to start without guarantees. That's the only thing that repeats exactly the same, business after business, country after country.
What each business taught me
- Shampoo, door to door: rejection is not personal. For every yes there were many no's, and the yes only came to the person who kept knocking.
- Wine: a product sells better when you can tell where it comes from. Story is part of the price.
- Drawings and scale models: handmade work has value, but only if you price your hours honestly. I undercharged for years.
- The school and office supplies store: inventory is money sitting on a shelf. Buying with intention matters more than buying cheap.
- The restaurant and peña at home: people come back for how they're treated, not only for the food.
- The lending business: trust needs paperwork. That lesson cost me the most.
- Vysa Trading LLC: a digital store keeps selling while you sleep — but only if the system behind it is solid.
How to apply this if you're on your first business
You don't need seven businesses to learn these lessons. You need to treat your first one as a school, not as a final exam. Write down what worked and what didn't every month. Keep the customers' words — what they asked, what they complained about, what made them buy again. Those notes become the starting point of whatever comes next, whether it's growing this business or starting a different one.
And when something fails, separate the two questions: was the idea wrong, or was the execution wrong? Most of my "failures" were good ideas with a weak system behind them. Fixing the system is cheaper than finding a new idea.
Starting over is a skill, not a defeat
Moving from Peru to Canada meant losing clients, contacts and a language I could sell in. What I didn't lose was the method: find a need, test it small, deliver well, repeat. That method works in any country and with any product. It's what I teach today when I help someone build their first website or open their first online store — not a magic formula, but a habit that has survived seven businesses.
Frequently asked questions
Isn't changing business so often a sign of failure?
Not necessarily. Many of my businesses ended because life changed — a new country, a new stage with my kids, a new market. Each one left skills and customers' lessons that the next one used.
How do I know when to close a business?
When you've honestly fixed the system — price, product, channel — and the numbers still don't improve, or when it no longer fits your life. Closing one door on purpose is different from giving up.
Which of the seven would you start again today?
Any of them can work with today's tools. The difference now is that I would start online first, test small, and build the website and the system before investing in stock or a physical space.
What would you tell someone starting their first business?
Write things down, separate the money, and keep showing up. Most of what looks like talent in business is simply repetition.